Compact support clamp with rotating equipment attachment and jaw operator

ABSTRACT

The device utilizes a thruster cylinder driven by a enlarged knob and terminating in a thruster plate to clamp to a support. Provision is made to attach a device to the clamp through a rotating index wheel which can lock the device by receiving a tang from a trigger lever at a selected increment of rotation. A second embodiment has two index wheels so that the attached device can be displaced in one of four directions to avoid conflict with other devices on the same support. The second axis is normally used to return a displaced device to an upright orientation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of the application Ser. No.12/610,216 filed Oct. 30, 2009. That application was still pending as ofthe filing of this Continuation and therefore this Continuation isentitled to priority based on the original application filing date.Applicant incorporates by reference the entire prior applicationincluding the original FIGS. 13 and 13A pursuant to 37 C.F.R. 1.57.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In various applications structures such as equipment must be mountedfrom a support in proximity to the location where the equipment isutilized. This requirement is especially common with medical equipmentthat must be supported near where the equipment is utilized for medicaltreatment of patients.

Clamps with features for mounting equipment are known that are securedto existing supports such as tubular supports as in IV poles (vertical)and bed rails (horizontal). Clamps have also been utilized with planarsupports such as table edges.

A typical clamp may comprise a c-clamp shape that grasps a supportbetween a fixed jaw and a moveable jaw. The jaw operator mechanism formoving the moveable jaw into engagement with and securely grasping thesupport has typically utilized a screw carried in a threaded opening inthe clamp body. This screw, of necessity, must be of a length greaterthan the maximum distance between the fixed and moveable jaws plus thewidth of the clamp body through which it is threaded. This creates anelongated profile that may interfere with other clamps or structurescarried on the support.

Another feature which is desirable in equipment clamps is the ability torotate attached equipment so that the equipment will be presented to theuser in a upright orientation. In the past rotational capability hasrequired substantial further protrusions from the clamp body toaccommodate the rotational mechanism which further increases the profileof the clamp and the potential for interference with other clamps orstructures on the support.

Various suggestions have been made that changes should be made to clampdesigns including the suggestion of incorporating a lock to preventremoval of the clamp from the support on which the clamp is mounted andthereby to prevent removal of the device by unauthorized persons. It hasalso been suggested that it would be advantageous to reduce the overallwidth of the clamp by reducing the height of the structures used forrotation of the supported device. However, no structure to accomplishthese objectives has been suggested.

The present invention represents a realization of the deficiencies ofprior art clamps and the development of mechanisms that minimize theprofile and versatility of equipment support clamps.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Locks on clamps for medical devices are part of the prior art, as aresmall diameter knobs, that can be used to advance or retract a threadeddevice rapidly when there is little or no resistance to the screwsadvance or retraction. These features of the exemplary embodiment areclaimed as part of the invention only when combined with the uniquecombination of features in the disclosed embodiment.

In an exemplary embodiment all advantages known to the applicant at thetime of filing are incorporated. In the invention a compact clamp andmount is provided for attaching equipment such as medical devices to asupport. The clamp incorporates a moveable thruster plate whichcooperates with a fixed jaw. The clamp is capable of mounting equipmentfrom horizontal supports (such as a table edge or bed rail) and fromvertical supports (such as an IV pole). Both cylindrical and flatsupports are accommodated by shape of the thruster plate and fixed jaw.After installation the equipment can be rotated on the clamp so that theequipment is in an upright orientation. In a modified embodiment dualrotational adjustment is accommodated for allowing an adjustment todevice such as in the vertical plane, so that the equipment can beposition in a way that both makes it easy for the user to observe, forexample, controls and displays on the equipment and at the same timeavoid interference with other equipment or structures that may becarried on the same support.

The clamp body incorporates all necessary functions in much less spacethan conventional clamps. The functions that may be accommodated includeindexed rotation, clamp jaw or thruster plate advance and retractionwithout threaded extensions outside of the clamp body, and a lock toprevent unauthorized removal of the equipment fro he support, and anindexed rotation wheel.

Indexed rotation is accomplished within the clamp body by incorporatinga wheel recess with a central spindle about which the index wheel canrotate. The rotation of the wheel is controlled by a spring returntrigger that retracts a tang from spaced index recesses in the peripheryof the wheel to permit rotation to a selected indexed position. Anominal 90 degree spacing is shown. A mount plate is secured forrotation with the index wheel and incorporates an access opening toprovide access to a bolt that is threaded into the central shaft. Theequipment is carried on the mount plate.

The advance and retraction of the clamp jaw is accomplished through athruster cylinder that surrounds a threaded bolt attached to thethruster plate. An enlarged knob is attached to the cylinder. Thecylinder is threaded to engage the bolt near the outer end of thecylinder. The enlarged knob is sized to be easily grasped by the fingersand yet provide sufficient leverage to firm drive the thruster plateinto engagement with a support. A left handed thread is provided so thatclockwise rotation of the enlarged knob results in extension of thethruster plate to engage the support, which is what the user wouldintuitively expect from clockwise rotation.

The clamp body may optionally incorporate a lock to prevent substantialrotation of the enlarged knob and therefore prevent removal of theequipment from the support. A tubular cam lock is received in acylindrical recess in the outer perimeter of the clamp body. A locklever is mounted at the inner end of the lock body. When a key isrotated to the locked position the lock lever rotates to where it isadjacent to the thruster cylinder. The cylinder mounts a nub thatextends from the cylinder so that the path of the nub intersects theposition of the lock lever when the enlarged knob is rotated to thelocked position and limits rotation of the cylinder to less than 360degrees. This amount of rotation is not enough to disengage the clampfrom cylindrical or square tubing supports.

In a further embodiment of the invention, two rotational elements areincorporated so that the position of the attached equipment can bevaried to limit interference between multiple clamps attached to thesame support. The second index plate is mounted in a recess in an armwhich is in turn carried on the first index plate. The arm comprises anelongated plate and has sufficient thickness to incorporate the recessfor the index plate which limits the offset of the associated mountplate from the clamp body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the clamp and mount of the inventionwith provisions for rotation about one axis.

FIG. 1A shows the clamp of FIG. 1, mounted on a wheeled IV stand andcarrying a piece of equipment shown in dotted lines.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the clamp and mount of the inventionwith provision for rotation about two axes and a cylindrical lock.

FIG. 2A shows a two axis clamp mounting a piece of equipment (shown indotted lines) on a wheeled IV stand.

FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. 1 showing the provisions for attachment ofthe mount plate and access to the fastener that secures the rotationalelements in a recess in the clamp body.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3 and showingthe cylindrical thruster and recessed index wheel.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the clamp of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5 and showingthe trigger with associated tang engaging index openings of the indexwheel.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the dual axis clamp of FIG. 2.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 7 showing thelock cylinder being received in the clamp body outboard of thecylindrical thruster.

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the clamp in FIG. 8.

FIG. 9A is a view identical to FIG. 9, except for the position of thesection line utilized by FIG. 10.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line 10-10 of FIG. 9A andshowing the elongated arm with index wheel at one end and provisions formounting a mount plate at the other end.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken on line 11-11 in FIG. 9 and showingthe second index wheel and trigger assembly.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken on line 12-12 in FIG. 9 and showingthe lock cylinder and lock lever.

FIG. 13 is an end view of the clamp (52) to show the position of thedetail view of the lock cylinder viewed from below.

FIG. 13A is a detail view of the engagement between the nub on thethruster cylinder and showing the lock lever in position to engage thenub on the thruster cylinder.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the single rotational axis clamp (10) with a clamp body(12). The thruster plate (14) is attached to a screw (16) that isadvanced/retracted by operation of the enlarged knob (18) which rotatesthe thruster cylinder (See FIG. 4). The thruster cylinder is in threadedengagement with the screw (16). The enlarged knob (18) has a knurledextension (20) for rapid rotation to bring the thruster plate (14) intoengagement with a support (not shown) and to retract the thruster plate(14) after the tension on the support is released by use of the enlargedknob (18). The enlarged knob has a cylindrical extension (19) whichsurrounds the thruster cylinder and thereby provides room for the screw(16) to retract. The clamp (10) has a fixed jaw (22) opposed to thethruster plate (14). A mount plate (24) is secured to a index wheel (26)(See FIG. 4) by fasteners (28). The mount plate incorporates twomounting bores (30) through which fasteners can be passed to secure to apiece of equipment or other structure to the clamp (10). A trigger (32)is shown received in the clamp body (12) and carried on a pivot (34).The operation of the trigger (32) and index wheel (26) will be explainedin greater detail by reference to FIG. 6.

Aluminum is the preferred material for the clamp body and most of theassociated parts to produce a light-weight yet strong device that doesnot substantially increase the total weight of the clamp and anyassociated medical equipment. However it has been found desirable tomake the thruster plate of molded nylon 66 fiber reinforced plastic toavoid marring the surfaces of a support carrying the clamp and yetretain the strength and toughness to withstand substantial clampingpressure. It was also determined that the index wheel should be made ofa material complementary to the characteristics of the aluminum body andparticularly the index wheel. Therefore brass is the preferred materialfor the index wheel and will smoothly engage and disengage with thetrigger tang over a long operational life.

FIG. 1A shows the clamp (10) mounted on a wheeled IV stand (36). Thestand has wheels (38) on a base(40) with a vertical support (42)mounting a support wheel (44) (for use by ambulatory patients). Thevertical support (42) carries a vertical IV pole (46) topped by anadjustable IV tree (48). A piece of equipment (50) is shown in dottedlines. The equipment may be an IV pump, heart monitor or otherinstrument or structure requiring support.

FIG. 2 shows a two axis clamp (52) having a clamp body (54). Anelongated arm (56) provides an offset for the mount plate (58) which isin turn carried on an index wheel mounted in a recess (60) (See FIG. 8)in the elongated arm (56). Two triggers are provided to controlrotation. Trigger (60) controls rotation of the arm (56) on the clampbody (54) and trigger (62) controls rotation of the mount plate (58) onthe arm (56). By use of the trigger (60) a mounted structure such as apiece of medical equipment mounted on a vertical support (as in FIG. 2A)can be displaced horizontally by double the distance between the axes ofthe two index plates (See FIG. 8) by depressing the trigger (60) androtating the arm (56) by 180 degrees. By comparing the position of theequipment (50) in FIG. 1A (single axis) to that in FIG. 2A (two axiswith the elongated arm horizontal) it will be appreciated that the twoaxis embodiment can be used to vary the location of the equipmentrelative to the support (IV pole (36) in the illustrated examples).

Referring again to FIG. 2, the second trigger (62) controls therotational orientation of the equipment. For example, if the arm (56) isrotated 90 degrees to the left to a vertical orientation it willdisplace the attached equipment upwardly. The second trigger (62) isthen operated to permit rotation of the displaced equipment to the leftto return it to an upright orientation. It will be apparent that the twoaxis configuration can be used in a similar manner when the clamp iscarried on a horizontal support with the first rotation of the takingthe arm to the horizontal to one side or the other and the rotation ofthe mount plate again being used to return the equipment to an uprightorientation.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show the mount plate (24) in a single axis embodiment. Themount plate is attached to a threaded spindle (64) (See FIG. 4) by afastener such as the nylon insert nut (66). Screws (28) are threadedinto the index wheel through threaded bores (68) (See FIG. 6).Accordingly the mount plate (24) rotates on the spindle (64) asdetermined by the indexed orientation of the index wheel (70). Thearrangement of the spindle being located in a recess (72) within theclamp body (12) permits a minimal addition to the width of the clampbody to accommodate the rotation.

FIG. 4 shows the index wheel (70) journaled on the spindle (64) which isreceived in a cylinder (66) within the recess (72) that houses the indexwheel (70). The spindle (64) is a right angles to the axis of thethruster cylinder. The enlarged knob (18) though the cylindricalextension (19) is shown as being secured to the thruster cylinder (74)by a pin (76). The pin (76) cooperates with the shoulder (78) on thethruster cylinder and the cylindrical extension (19) to capture theenlarged knob (18) and thruster cylinder (74) in the clamp body (12).Rotation of the enlarged knob (18) results in rotation of the thrustercylinder (74). The thruster cylinder is shown to have threads (80) atits terminal end which engage the screw (16). Thus the enlarged knob andcylinder rotate together and form a rotatable drive structure.

Rotation of the thruster cylinder (74) results in extension/retractionof the screw (16). The screw (16) does not rotate. It is through the useof the cylinder and screw combination that maximum length profile of theclamp (10) is reduced. The screw extends and retracts from within thecylinder and enlarged knob (18) so the enlarged knob (18) and does notmove away from the clamp body (12) as in conventional designs increasethe effective length as the jaw is retracted. The screw (16) ispreferably configured with a left-hand thread. By using a left handthread, clockwise rotation of the enlarged knob (18) results in theadvance of the clamp jaw as a user would intuitively expect and avoidsthe confusion that would result if a right hand thread were employed.

Because the screw does not rotate the terminus (82) of the screw can belocked onto the jaw (14). The thruster plate (14) will preferably be inthe form of a waffle plate (86) with ridges (84) that allow the jaw tosecurely engage a variety of surfaces on a support such as the IV polein FIGS. 1A and 2A or to horizontal bars or planar horizontal surfaces.The waffle plate (86) is guided by engagement with the face (88) of theclamp body. The face (88) is flat so there is no tendency for the waffleplate to twist when it is extended toward the fixed jaw (22). The flats(90) on the fixed jaw (22) are useful for providing a substantial flatarea for engaging planar surfaces.

FIG. 5 shows the location of the trigger (32) within the closed side(92) of the clamp body (12).

FIG. 6 shows the trigger assembly (32) which includes the trigger lever(33) journaled on a pivot (34) and terminating in a tang (96) which issized to fit into an index recess such as the exemplary recess (98) onthe index wheel (70). The trigger tang (96) is held in engagement withan index recess (98) on the index wheel (70) by spring (100) so that theclamp will remain in a selected rotational orientation until the trigger(32) is depressed to withdraw the tang (96) free of the index recess(98). The index wheel (70) is shown to have threaded bores (68) whichcorrespond to the openings in the mount plate (see FIG. 3).

FIG. 7-13 shows the two axis embodiment of the invention and alsoillustrates the use of a cylinder lock (102) (See FIG. 12) byutilization of the key (103) to prevent the removal of the clamp body(52) and thereby prevent the removal of the associated equipment.

FIG. 8 shows the first index wheel (104) mounts an elongated arm (56)instead of mounting the equipment directly as in the single axisversion. The elongated arm (56) houses a second index wheel (106) withstructure that duplicates the first index wheel except that the recess(108) which houses the second index wheel (106) is within the arm (56)instead of the clamp body (52). The recess (108) is at the end oppositeto that attached to the clamp body. The use of a spindle (110) allowsmost of the structure for rotation to be housed within the body of thearm (56), rather than extending extensively beyond the surface of thearm. The result is a much lower width profile than can be achieved byconventional means. The mounting plate (58) in the two axis embodimentis offset from the axis of the index wheel (104) mounted in the clampbody (54) so that the mounted equipment may be positioned verticallyabove, below or the sides of that axis and thereby position to theequipment so that it does not interfere with other mounted equipment orstructure on the support. As will appear the lock cylinder (102) ishoused within the clamp body (54) and doesn't further enlarge theprofile of the clamp when no key (103) is inserted.

FIG. 9 is full line rendering of the device as in FIG. 8 showing theenlarged knob (18), the triggers (60) and (62).

FIG. 9A is the same as FIG. 9 except that the section line 10-10 isplaced so that the section view in FIG. 10 is positioned to show theindex wheel (109) as is illustrated in FIG. 10.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken on line 10-10 of FIG. 9A and showingthe index wheel (109) and trigger (60) as received for rotation withinthe elongated arm (56).

FIG. 11 shows index wheel (104) and the trigger (62).

FIG. 12 shows the detail of a cylinder lock and key. The cylinder lock(102) has a lock lever (114) which is used to engage a nub (116) on thecylindrical extension (19) (see FIGS. 4 and 13A).

FIG. 13 shows the location 13 of the detail view in FIG. 13 (detail).The detail is an enlarged view of the cylinder lock as seen from belowFIG. 13. The nub (116) is attached to the cylindrical extension (19).The nub (116) engages the lock lever (114) as the Enlarged knob (18),cylindrical extension (19) and thruster cylinder (118) (collectively therotatable drive structure) are rotated through less than 360 degrees.Since the rotatable drive structure can not be rotated even a full turnit is not possible to remove the clamp from a cylindrical supportbecause the thruster plate (118) (See FIGS. 2 and 8) cannot be made toclear the cylindrical support.

1. A compact clamp for mounting and positioning a structure on asupport, comprising: a clamp body having a generally C-shaped profilewith a fixed jaw and a moveable thruster plate adapted to capture asupport between said jaw and plate, a thruster cylinder rotateablyreceived through said clamp body but captured against axial movement andhaving threads that surround a screw received in said cylinder andthreadably engaging said cylinder so that when the cylinder is rotatedthe screw is advanced or retracted to move said jaw into and out ofengagement with said support, a first mount plate structurally connectedto said clamp body and adapted to attach said clamp body to a load to bemounted on said support.
 2. (canceled)
 3. (canceled)
 4. (canceled) 5.(canceled)
 6. The compact clamp according to claim 1, furthercomprising: said thruster plate having a central curved section forengagement with generally cylindrical supports and at least one flatterminal section for engagement with planar supports.
 7. The compactclamp according to claim 1, further comprising: a knob for rotating thethruster cylinder said thruster cylinder having at least one nub thatprotrudes from said thruster cylinder, a lock received in said clampbody and having a lock lever mounted for rotation into and out ofinterference with the rotational path of said nub.
 8. The compact clampaccording to claim 7, further comprising: said lock is received in saidclamp body adjacent to said thruster cylinder.
 9. (canceled)
 10. Thecompact clamp according to claim 1, further comprising: an enlarged knobattached to said thruster cylinder to facilitate rotation of saidthruster cylinder by hand.
 11. The compact clamp according to claim 10,further comprising: a knurled extension on said enlarged knob and havinga smaller diameter than said enlarged knob to facilitate rapid rotationof said enlarged knob when there is low resistance to rotation. 12.(canceled)
 13. (canceled)
 14. (canceled)
 15. The compact clamp accordingto claim 1, further comprising: said thruster plate having a centralcurved section for engagement with generally cylindrical supports and atleast one flat terminal section for engagement with planar supports. 16.(canceled)
 17. (canceled)
 18. (canceled)
 19. (canceled)
 20. (canceled)21. (canceled)
 22. (canceled)
 23. (canceled)
 24. (canceled) 25.(canceled)
 26. (canceled)
 27. (canceled)
 28. (canceled)
 29. (canceled)30. (canceled)